


Something at First Sight

by MegaWallflower



Series: Smile for the Camera [4]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Blushing, Flirting, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oblivious, Photographs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:47:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24478951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegaWallflower/pseuds/MegaWallflower
Summary: Sukea asks Guy what he felt when he first met Kakashi. Guy doesn’t quite answer.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai | Might Guy, Maito Gai | Might Guy/Sukea
Series: Smile for the Camera [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1456843
Comments: 12
Kudos: 141





	Something at First Sight

Sukea smiled as he shuffled through his photographs. His photo collection was slowly becoming a mosaic of bright lights and the current light of his life: Guy.

But it was also still full of failed attempts at unmasking the mysterious Kakashi.

Perfectly timed falling leaves, or angles that were just a bit too skewed, or shadow clones that vanished just when the shutter was clicked, or other ninjas dashing into the line of the shot at a bad time, or clothes pulled up just a bit too high, all concealing that tantalizing glimpse under the mask that the kids of team 7 were so desperate for. Each snapshot was another hilarious memory of yet another botched attempt Sukea had spearheaded with Naruto and Sasuke and Sakura. Sukea almost wished he had snapped some pictures of the looks on their faces after every increasingly absurd failure of this impossible task.

It was getting a bit more difficult to mess with Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke these days, even though they were still just as curious about Kakashi’s face as ever as ever. Sasuke, in particular, was starting to get very suspicious of Sukea. He had even accused him of failing on purpose, and Sakura chimed in in agreement, saying that he was probably kicked out of ANBU specifically for his incompetence. Naruto weakly came to his defense by saying that Sukea wasn’t ‘incompetent,’ just really, really dumb.

Sukea chuckled to himself. Kids could be so harsh.

“You have quite a few pictures of Kakashi…” Guy mumbled, leaning against Sukea to look at the pictures from over his shoulder. He felt warm, so close that he was almost pressed against the length of Sukea’s back. Sukea would complain about the lack of personal space, if he wasn’t the one who was crashing on Guy’s bed in the first place. Sukea lay on his side on the outside of Guy’s bed and Guy was sprawled behind him on the side against the wall. “Maybe even more than you have of me.”

“Maybe.” Sukea nodded as he thumbed through the photographs. “Are you jealous that you’re not my only model?”

“Ha! Not at all! If anything, this is proof that you have excellent taste! Kakashi’s a pretty fascinating guy! I’m glad that he caught your eye! I’d expect nothing less from him or from you!” Guy raised his arm to wipe the wet trail of happy tears that had suddenly appeared on his cheeks. He was as overdramatic as ever. “And what gorgeous photographs they are! I’m getting emotional! There’s an eternity in these small moments you capture that moves me to tears! My rival is just so stunning, even when he’s covered up by leaves and birds and feathers!”

“You think Kakashi is that attractive?”

“Of course, I do! He is my rival, after all! He’s caught my attention, too! In fact, Kakashi caught my eye long before he caught yours, you know! I’m certain I took notice of him long, long before you did! Even if you erroneously think that Kakashi’s a greater model than I am myself, I wouldn’t be jealous of that, because he’s just that good! If you and I were competing to see which of us was more interested in Kakashi, then—”

“—You’re _interested_ in Kakashi?” Sukea pressed.

To temper the weight of those words, Guy laughed and shrugged it off. “Well, I don’t know how we’d compete in _that_! Maybe we should compete to see which of us captures his beauty best instead! I’d definitely have a hard time beating someone as skilled as you, but that’s the fun part!”

There was almost a flippant denial on Sukea’s tongue, an insistence that these photos were only the first batch, that there were still so many things he needed to improve on, that Kakashi wasn’t exactly being a great model during any of those shots. Guy could catch up if he really tried, if he really thought Kakashi was so beautiful. He thought about all the flirtatious ways he could offer Guy private lessons in photography, if he wanted to be as skilled as Sukea.

But all of those words died when Guy leaned over him and drew in closer, and yet again, Sukea was reminded that Guy had no idea what personal space was. “Maybe you could give me private lessons sometime. I’d love to challenge Kakashi to a photography competition and catch him by surprise.”

Sukea’s heart skipped a beat. Alone with Guy in his bedroom, in his bed, Guy’s legs pressed against Sukea’s side… He felt trapped in the warmest, pleasantest way possible. “…Sure. If you say so.”

Guy beamed, snuggled against Sukea in a hug, and then finally climbed back off of him and flopped back onto bed. Sukea could finally think again. “Besides,” Guy added. “It looks like he’s enjoying himself in those pictures. So really, no harm done. If Kakashi is happy, then I can’t be anything but happy myself.”

“Really? He looks happy to you in these? You can barely see his face at all.” This time, Sukea was the one to close that inch of space between them. He moved his head back, letting his lower body relax to lie fully against Guy’s. He could feel Guy’s his body stiffen. “You can tell whether or not he’s happy from half-covered photos like this? You must pay a lot of attention to him.”

Guy’s eyes squinted in concentration, scrutinizing the photographs. “There’s a mischievous sort of giddiness to these photographs that Kakashi always has when he’s having fun egging someone on. In fact, I think he lets you take them. He might be toying with you, Sukea.”

“Heh. I’ve failed so many times that I’m starting to suspect that might be the case, too.” Sukea quirked his eyebrow in curious amusement as he put the photographs away. “You know, Guy… You sound like you think you know Kakashi pretty well.”

Guy laughed cockily. “I don’t _think_ I do. I know I do! I know Kakashi better than I know my own heart!”

Sukea scooted forward, away from Guy, and rolled over to face him, keeping a small gap of space between them. “Would you like to know what I think?”

“Sure, I’ll bite.” Without Sukea to lounge on, Guy propped his head up on his arm instead. “What do you think, Sukea?”

“It sounds like something deeper than rivalry, if you ask me.”

Guy gave him a confused glance. “Hmm? Like what?”

“You tell me.” Sukea reached over and cupped Guy’s face playfully. “What is there between you and Kakashi?”

Guy’s smile twitched, like he wanted to giggle. Sukea almost wondered if that question was too forward.

Sukea had been testing the waters for a while, trying and failing to unmask Guy just as much as he tried and failed to unmask Kakashi, except he was actually serious about the former. Maybe Kakashi was overly cautious as an ex-ANBU Black Ops, but this was the only way Sukea could think of to safely gauge Guy’s heart. Kakashi knew his own feelings. He wanted no question in his mind about the true nature of Guy’s. He didn’t question the depth of Guy’s feelings, or the sincerity –Guy liked Kakashi, in some way. He’d admit that very openly. But to find a definite answer to the nature of those feelings, reconnaissance like this was necessary.

Sukea wanted to finally know whether or not Guy was _in love_ with Kakashi, real love-love. Maybe Guy was just nice because he was always nice. Maybe Guy was just the greatest, most stubbornly loyal and supportive friend the world had ever known. But maybe he was something else in addition to that, too.

Sukea had expected it to be easier to pry a straight answer out of Guy as Sukea, a nosey reporter from out of town asking a bunch of random personal questions, instead of Kakashi, a man who was going to potentially humiliate himself depending on what Guy’s answer was.

However, it was Guy’s nature to evade some things with boisterous gestures and flowery words, especially personal things about himself. It was what made him so difficult to read in the first place. It made him a very good partner to have on a mission, and a very inconvenient man to be madly in love with. Sukea’s quiet, indirect question only prompted an equally evasive answer.

“It’s rivalry! There _is_ nothing deeper than rivalry, I assure you!” Guy beamed with pride. He was grinning so wide that Sukea was not sure the huge smile could fit between Sukea’s small hands. “It’s the truest, manliest bond! I have no idea what you could be saying is deeper than that.”

Despite his frustration with the dodgy response, Sukea could feel the corners of his own lips tugging upwards. Guy’s smile had always been painfully contagious. “…Oh yeah, that reminds me,” his grey eyes twinkled mischievously, “I heard a rumor that you considered Kakashi your rival ever since you first laid eyes on him. Were you born this passionate? Is that just how you are? Or… is there something about Kakashi that gets you so excited? Is all that just rivalry? Are you really sure? I’m sure you can think of something a little deeper than that.”

Guy pursed his lips, scrunched his face, shook off Sukea’s hands and pointed at him accusatorily. “—Hey! You’re grinning! You’re practically giving it everything you have to stop yourself from bursting into laughter right now! Are you joking around? Am I the one being toyed with? How the tables have turned!” That managed to get a laugh out of Sukea. Guy seemed satisfied with that, and Sukea’s heart fluttered. “Why are you so curious about something like that, anyway? Are you doing a report on the most famous rivals in the Land of Fire?”

“Kakashi’s hard to corner,” Sukea offered readily as an excuse. “I can’t get a moment alone with the guy. You’re so much more agreeable. Maybe I should just interview you to get info about him. If you know him so well, I’m sure you won’t mind answering some questions for me.”

“Oh, so, this is about Kakashi after all!” Ever helpful, Guy went along with it. All his reservations vanished. “I’m always happy to gush about my rival! You heard right! We go way back! Meeting Kakashi had quite an impact on me!”

“Even at first? I heard he wasn’t the sweetest kid.”

“Yes, even at first! It’s not an exaggeration to say that meeting Kakashi started me on the path towards finding my strength and becoming the man I am today! Even now, whenever I close my eyes, I remember that moment –that world-changing sight! Surrounded by a crowd of older strangers, small and alone and timid, I saw a beautiful flash of silver: Kakashi Hatake! I’m terrible with faces, but Kakashi wasn’t just a face! He was a force of nature. He was a flash of inspiration. He was the feeling of my heart stopping! Ever since the day I met him, no matter what I did, all I could think about was that boy. ‘Kakashi Hatake.’ A name that even I would never forget. It’s hard to describe all the feelings that washed over me in that instant. The intimidating weight of the realization that prodigies really did exist in the world. A desire to understand him from the bottom of my heart. The beginnings of my dream to simply stay by Kakashi’s side. That’s what sort of passion was in my soul when I first laid eyes on Kakashi.”

“That’s pretty heavy.” Guy’s purple prose was always like this. He might talk about his students or his teammates in similar ways.

“Without exaggeration, I can say that what I felt was stronger than something like love at first sight.”

Sukea choked. “—Love? That’s what you felt? For Kakashi?” It wasn’t the first time he’d ever heard Guy say the word, but it felt like he’d coaxed out the sort of unambiguous confession he’d been searching for. “Love at first sight?” Sukea hadn’t ever heard Guy use that particular turn of phrase when describing anyone besides Kakashi. Sukea wasn’t sure if it should give him hope or not.

Guy shook his head. “Something stronger than that! Something deeper, altogether different!”

“You keep saying it’s something deeper than love at first sight. But maybe it’s just that. It sounds like you’re just pining after him, doesn’t it?”

Guy’s head tilted inquisitively to one side. “Pining?”

“I mean… It’s not just rivalry and racing and eating competitions, is it? What do you want to do with Kakashi? What parts of you does he light a fire in and what do you want to do with that fire?”

“Ah, well, I guess…” Guy trailed off pensively, staring up at the ceiling for a moment before realizing, “—Wait, that’s not a question about Kakashi! That’s a question about me! I didn’t agree to answer any of those!” Guy made a face and clicked his tongue. “Very sneaky, Sukea! But I don’t think you’ll get very rich from a scoop on me! I’m too much of an open book already!”

“Aw, and I was so close…” Sukea chuckled, and he had to remember not to do it like Kakashi would, even though it was genuine. “Humor me, if you’re such an open book.” Sukea inched forward until they were lying face to face on the same pillow. “What do you want from Kakashi? In your wildest dreams, at your happily ever after, what would you and Kakashi be doing together?”

Guy made no effort to move away, although the only place he could have gone was to the wall. Instead, he curled up further into the middle of the bed with an unreadable expression. “Besides just both being alive? Who knows?”

Sukea huffed out a sigh. “I think you would.”

“You overestimate me, then, my friend.”

They paused, at a stalemate, until Guy broke the silence.

“…You asked if I was born passionate. Nothing could be farther from the truth. For years, I couldn’t even understand how my father could smile and shrug off all the insults he got. But something about it suddenly made sense when I heard Kakashi say that he expected me to fail, that someone who didn’t know ninjutsu had no business trying to be a ninja anyway. That was the first time I ever properly used my father’s words: ‘thank you for cheering.’” Guy rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling with a faraway look in his eyes. “Intentionally and unintentionally, Kakashi lights a fire in me. He brings out the best in me and makes me want to be even better forms of myself. Kakashi’s brilliant and powerful and so, so good. His heart’s one of a kind, and it’s the most precious thing in this world. I’d give anything for him, do anything for him. Plus, Kakashi was the first one besides me to ever acknowledge my father. That’s how I knew that it was Kakashi’s acknowledgement that really meant something. It means everything to me, at least. There’s something much deeper than love that I get from Kakashi. It’s inspiration, it’s passion, it’s…”

Guy sat up and threw his arms in the air, as if in defeat or frustration, even though he had a jovial grin on his face. “It’s really impossible to find a word for it! He’s my man of destiny, and I mean that! He’s my best friend! There’s no one in the world that could take the place I have for him in my heart and in my life! That’s what Kakashi is to me!”

Guy flopped back to the mattress and rolled over to face Sukea, dark eyes melting with what Sukea could only place as genuine adoration, and could only wish was romantic love instead of platonic kindness. Sukea wished it was desire reflected back in that expression, not just Guy being sweet and good-natured and way too pure about his feelings for his so-called best friend. “Do you see what I mean, Sukea? The word ‘love’ can’t encompass it. I don’t know what word could, besides ‘rivals.’ I’d never finish saying how amazing Kakashi is unless I simply summarize it as, ‘He’s the man I chose as my rival, and I’ve never once regretted that choice.’ For me, nothing’s deeper than that.”

Sukea dropped his gaze, feeling the beginnings of a blush start to color his bare cheeks. He tried to resist it, but he could feel his lips fighting to twist into a smile. “What am I supposed to say if you’re that earnest…”

“—Hm? What’s wrong, Sukea? Your face is bright red!” Guy cupped Sukea’s cheeks, holding his face and trying to guide him to look back at Guy. Sukea’s eyes stayed focused on the wall for a few seconds before returning to Guy’s. That pearly smile and those dark eyes still held his gaze. The tips of Guy’s thumbs traced a delicate pattern up and down the purple markings on Sukea’s face. Sukea could feel his heart start pounding harder for each second that he didn’t move away. “Are you okay?”

Sukea couldn’t help but wonder if Guy was secretly amused by all this. This was like holding a toy to a cat; pure torture. “I…” was all his racing mind could supply.

Guy’s fingers eased away from Sukea’s cheeks until they were lightly pinching Sukea’s sensitive earlobes, and it was difficult not to shiver as they traced that path. “Your ears are burning, too!” Guy said, and Sukea really couldn’t tell if he was teasing or not.

“I…” He rubbed the back of his reddened neck sheepishly. Sukea shrugged, bashful from the compliments.

Guy finally let go and pulled away, instead playfully bumping the back of his fist to the center of Sukea’s chest. “Catching a cold from all your travels east and west, O master reporter?”

Sukea tugged his scarf up to hide his face. He couldn’t think of an excuse, so he’d go along with the one Guy had given him. “A cold? I wonder… I was in the Land of Iron earlier, so maybe…”

“That explains it! You have to take better care of yourself, Sukea. I wouldn’t want you coming down with something. I enjoy our little talks. It’d be a shame for them to end! I’m sure Kakashi would miss you, too!” Still laying down on his side, Guy gave Sukea a thumbs-up with his free hand. “He has so much fun with you, after all!”

Sukea sighed, buried his face in Guy’s pillow, and muttered a quiet, “You toy with me more than Kakashi does.”


End file.
